Is a 500 mile oil change really needed?
#31
01-20-2009, 02:15 AM
If you want to do it then do it. Especially if you're doing it yourself - doesnt cost that much and if you feel better about it then that's fine. Personally I dont think it's necessary but can't hurt a thing.
I did my own 1,000 mile service. I'll do it again at 5k and every 5k after that. My last bike had 92k on it when it got totalled and it ran great with nothing other than routine maintenance - Amsoil in all 3 holes.
I did my own 1,000 mile service. I'll do it again at 5k and every 5k after that. My last bike had 92k on it when it got totalled and it ran great with nothing other than routine maintenance - Amsoil in all 3 holes.
#32
01-20-2009, 02:50 AM
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Working for a large engine manufacturer(Briggs and Stratton) gives me a unique take on this. One of the most expensive costs for any equipment manufacturer is warranty cost. EVERY manufacturer wants to minimize it. They all test their product under conditions that would make ANY of the people on this forum look like pansy's. Things like running them full throttle to zero throttle back and forth continuously for 500 hours without stopping. Taking the engine down to -35 and starting it and stopping it 200 times in a row. That kind of insane stuff. They use these tests to set up the maintenance on the equipment and recommend the maintenance that is needed to minimize warranty costs.
Overall, this is directed by engineers with DECADES of experience. We are down the road from Harley, I know a lot of those guys and they probably average 25 years.... they know what they are doing.
So, the engineers with all the experience and a MONETARY INTEREST in keeping your bike running as long as possible say to change oil at 1000, 5000, 10000.
A bunch of guys you don't know on a forum in cyberspace tell you to do it more often. Who should you listen too...
Please use your head and follow the manual. If you do this, you have the best chance of keeping your bike running well in the long run. If you change the oil more often it is just dumping money down the drain.....
Ed
Overall, this is directed by engineers with DECADES of experience. We are down the road from Harley, I know a lot of those guys and they probably average 25 years.... they know what they are doing.
So, the engineers with all the experience and a MONETARY INTEREST in keeping your bike running as long as possible say to change oil at 1000, 5000, 10000.
A bunch of guys you don't know on a forum in cyberspace tell you to do it more often. Who should you listen too...
Please use your head and follow the manual. If you do this, you have the best chance of keeping your bike running well in the long run. If you change the oil more often it is just dumping money down the drain.....
Ed
I follow the H-D guide lines
#33
01-20-2009, 04:42 AM
Follow the manual ... if you're still worred about it then send an oil sample in for analysis. You want be left guessing if do this ... http://www.blackstone-labs.com/motorcycle.html
BTW ... you can order a free sample kit and the cost for a standard analysis is $22.50. Not a bad price for peace of mind. Of course, you'll have to run several tests over a set period of time to get a true picture. I think it would be interesting for several of us to run these tests over the same mileage using different oils ... I bet the results would be very similiar! I use Mobil 1 synthetic and change every 5000. If I get caught in extreme temps and feel the oil was broken down too much, I'll change earlier.
BTW ... you can order a free sample kit and the cost for a standard analysis is $22.50. Not a bad price for peace of mind. Of course, you'll have to run several tests over a set period of time to get a true picture. I think it would be interesting for several of us to run these tests over the same mileage using different oils ... I bet the results would be very similiar! I use Mobil 1 synthetic and change every 5000. If I get caught in extreme temps and feel the oil was broken down too much, I'll change earlier.
Last edited by CSMHOG; 01-20-2009 at 04:51 AM.
#35
01-20-2009, 05:29 AM
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I drove my new '03 home and drained the oil immediately. Refilled with Harley dino oil & changed the filter. Drained the tranny (the lube was really sparkly with metal particles) and primary & filled them with synthetic lubes. Cut open the orig filter and found metal chips in it. Ran the new oil 200 miles & changed it again using dino oil. This time filter had nearly no metal in it. Changed to synthetic oil at 1000 miles. Engine used no oil between 3000 mile changes thereafter. Bike had lots of problems, but none were lube related, all were electrical etc.
#36
01-20-2009, 06:12 AM
Outstanding HDF Member
...agree with RamDez...anyone changing Syn oil at 2500 is just someone who likes throwing money away...why bother with the extra cost of Syn if you're going to treat it like Dino???makes absolutely no-sense...5000-7500 under NORMAL driving conditions is perfectly fine with Syn. ...if you want to change Syn oil every 2500, switch back to Dino and save some dough...
#37
01-20-2009, 06:31 AM
#39
01-20-2009, 06:57 AM
#40
01-20-2009, 07:35 AM
Well, I am a big believer that you can never run too much new, clean oil in any engine. However as you should have seen by now the Manual says at 1,000 miles everything else here is Personal Opinions only. Does it hurt to change it at 500? Nope. But as said already the MOCO has money at stake, so if it really needed to be done before 1,000 miles they'd dang sure tell you.